Well this was it. This was what the fate of the entire series was resting on. Seems a bit odd that they kept it back to episode six frankly, especially after the abysmal effort that was episodes four and five. (I'm so ashamed I can't even refer to them by name any more).

The Daleks are definitely back. Bigger, badder, bolder and bronzer than even Kilroy-Silk. Let's get one thing out of the way. In order to help itself regenerate it needed "time traveller DNA", though how Rose's DNA would have been changed by time travel is a mystery to me. The Dalek knew it needed this but seemed surprised when it, apologies for substituting one dastardly tag line here for another, assimiliated Rose, and got all sorts of girlie thoughts in there as well. For heaven's sake! The bloody thing had assimilated the entire internet. Did it just skim over the websites for Hello! magazine and Top Shop? Frankly if I were looking for aliens on Earth, I'd probably start with Hello! magazine.

I definitely approve of the upgrades and it seems the Mill have finally sorted themselves out with the special effects, and are producing effects, not only that the series deserves, but that viewers want to see.

It was frankly a single premise story but it was very interesting to note the helicopter at the beginning of the episode was referred to as "Bad Wolf" and now with the Grafitti from last week and episode twelve, another big Dalek one, also being called "Bad Wolf" I know this is going to turn into something interesting, and I hope they manage to keep it a secret until the time is right.

It was good to hear more about the time war. frankly anybody with a brain could have figured out it was the Daleks' fault. I sincerely hope they don't just keep referring to it however, and actually show us either it, or some refugees and consequences of it. It's a bit like hearing about Somalia on the radio but never seeing the full horror of it for yourself on TV.

So there you go, my review. I liked it... alot! It was precisely what I've been waiting for and was in my opinion the strongest episode so far. Cool to see a girl from Stargate in it too, never hurts!

No-one could accuse Russell T Davies of lacking commercial sense. An old monster in Episode One to reassure the fans. Half the budget thrown at Episode Two to convince the CGI generation this stuff is worth watching. A gloriously historical Episode Three to flex the BBC's period drama muscles. Then relax with a money-saving two parter, coasting on the show's newly established success... And then, just as the rating starts to sag with the traditional mid-season slump - WHAM! Hit 'em with a Dalek.

Now THAT'S Doctor Who.

Previews suggested Dalek would be the pick of the season, and expectations were consequently enormously high for this episode - although perhaps not much higher than they would have been anyway, with the iconic nature of this, the Doctor's oldest foe. The BBC's pan-media publicity outlet ground into action once more after a lull for Aliens of London / World War III: a new-look Dalek graced the cover of the Radio Times; trailers popped up at all hours of the day; Blue Peter worked its usual behind-the-scenes-feature magic; Newsround Showbiz carried a feature on the story, although not until after the show aired... Even BBCi managed to make a story out of it, focusing on the monster's new abilities.

Ultimately, the episode probably ended up commanding almost the same level of public attention as Rose, the new season's opener - and much like that story, it succeeds absolutely in recreating an icon for a new generation, mixing the traditional with the innovative to invent a whole new, even more satisfying creation. The tight cast, high production values, impressive direction and top-notch visual effects are everything people had been demanded of the new Dalek, and indeed everything they should now be coming to expect from the series, but it's the writing that's the real start of this episode. It was always going to take more than a bigger laser to evolve the Dalek from a prop that crops up in Kit-Kat adverts into a really scary alien, and Rob Shearman absolutely cracks it, creating instead something that goes beyond all that and becomes, at times, genuinely moving.

The self-consciously traditional prop/costume design belies a new direction for what is a supposedly a 'monster' story, with a tense, claustrophobic storyline that makes the most of its 45 minutes by filling it with moral greys and difficult decisions rather than great big explosions. Gone are the massed armies of yester-who, the 10,000 Daleks waiting just off camera to annihiliate the universe - here we have a single lone Dalek, against a single, lone Doctor; both of them intelligent, and both of them dangerous. The result is an exquisite pair of performances, each one bouncing off the continuing wonder that is Billie Piper, and each character (and yes, it is a character) bringing out the best and the worst in the other. Between the three of them - amongst all the mayhem, and despite the occasionally overbearing incidental music and now-traditional wobbly editing - they create what are undoubtedly some of the strongest moments ever seen in the series.

Genuinely, it's hard to say much about this episode other than how good it is. It's scary, it's funny, it's tense, it's almost impossibly involving, and it's got lines that will send a thump of energy right through your tragic geeky heart. And it's got the best cliffhanger ever written, right there in the middle of the episode. And not only has it got all this, and profound emotional arcs, and powerful, moving moments of drama, AND great big explosions, it's also got the cute gay bloke off of Corrie.

Never mind aiming at the eyepiece, this one hits you right between the eyes - and stays there.

Dalek' was the episode of this first Season of the new Doctor Who series I was most looking forward to; more than 'Rose' for me personally this was the story that excited me, the one I was most looking forward to. So did 'Dalek' meet my fevered expectations?

The answer has to be a resounding YES! This is perhaps the best Dalek story ever made and one of the best Doctor Who stories in any medium ever. So impressed was I by the way every aspect of this story, from the script, to the acting, to the special effects, to the music gelled together to create a story truly deserving of that much over used descrition 'classic', that it is difficult to know where to begin.

The script, by the very talented Rob Shearman, was simply superb and has significantly raised the standard for the other writers, including RTD himself. The concept of the alien museum owned by the self-centered Van-Straten was an interesting one and the idea of the Dalek machine having passed through several hands before it reached him an interesting one. The emphasising of just how dangerous even one lone Dalek can be was long overdue and surpassed even the audio adventure 'Jubilee' by the same writer in that regard. The rising up the stairs had, of course, been done before, but suddenly that sink plunger is no longer funny. The intelligence of the Daleks has never been more ably portrayed and this was only a lowly warrior; imagine how the intelligence of the Supreme Dalek compares. Other elements of the script worthy of praise include the Doctor's extreme reaction to the Dalek, the connection between the Dalek and Rose and the inventive ways in which the Dalek killed and manipulated. The ending was just perfection, the revealing of the truly vulnerable Dalek creature (looking almost exactly as I had always thought they would), Rose's anger at the Doctor and the Doctor's hatred, giving way to a kind of understanding. this wasn't just good Doctor Who, it was good drama period. So far as I could tell from one viewing there were no plot holes, no padding and no unnecessary characters or incident. This was a tight superbly wriiten script that I cannot praise Rob Shearman highly enough for.

'Dalek' was the episode that finally proved for me that Christopher Eccleston was the right choice to play the Doctor, and that made me regret that we will only see his excellent Ninth Doctor for one season. There was no unnecessary grinning here, no hint of sending the character up (something I have occassionally felt he was doing) but a tight focussed performance that made me forget completely this was a television series and that there was an actor playing the part of the Doctor, it was the Doctor there on screen, a real Time Lord fighting a real Dalek. Whether he was portraying pain, anger, concern or fear Eccleston was utterly convincing! If Christopher Eccleston is as good in the rest of the season his moving on from the role will be all the sadder.

Rose Tyler was, of course, just as central and important in this episode as the Doctor and once again we had a superb performance from Billie Piper. Like her co-star, she made me forget there was an actress playing the part and created the illusion of reality. I wasnt watching Billie, I was watching Rose Tyler.

The real star of 'Dalek' was, of course, the eponymous villain itself. The Dalek casing looked superb, the slightly retro design actually looking far more effective and menacing than the previous update in 'Remembrance of The Daleks. This was a Dalek that convinced you it was dangerous. The Doctor's comments about how dangerous it was were, to a large extent, merely the icing on the cake since it was obvious from the Dalek's appearance and new abilities that it was very, very dangerous. I have already mentioned the elevation and deadly sucvker arm, but the force shield was an idea long overdue and very welcome and the swivelling mid-section inspired. All these abilities were, however, overshadowed by two things, the superb Dalek voice by Nick Briggs that conveyed every nuance of the Dalek's intelligence and emotions and the aforemention intelligence itself, combined with a cunning that truly convinced that this was, possibly, the most dangerous creature in the universe.

The supporting characters were uniformly excellent with no hammy performances, even from those who were exterminated by the Dalek.

Murray Gold's music was also excellent, the operatic feel perfectly suiting the tone of the episode.

Thinking about it again, this is not only the best Dalek story ever, but possibly the best Doctor Who story ever!

Glorious.

Absolutely glorious.

"Dalek" sweeps away all other contenders, from old and new. It is an absolute triumph of television, conveying drama and emotion in equal measure, and propitious amounts of that. I'm notorious for being cruelly pedantic in my reviews of any sort of media, never permitting the slightest fault to be omitted as I indulge in a malevolent delight in tearing down every edifice. Yet it's genuinely requiring massive effort on my part to find anything that could conceivably construed as a fault in this edition of Doctor Who. My only quarrels with this episode was that Van Statten was something of a one-dimensional entity being your stereotype fresh-out-of-the-box Greedy Business Magnate Mk. I, the "elevating" Dalek looking a little too obviously computer generated, and the armaments of the soldiers still sounding like weedy pop-guns, lacking the throaty, tympanum-rupturing roar and growl of deadly armaments.

Beyond those niggles, however, "Dalek" is a majestic episode. Christopher Eccleston excels himself, spitting venom, rancour and loathing at his great foe as he circles it, each word of reprobation another twist of the knife, another vindictive, steel-capped kick to the stomach as he gives voice to an entire species' worth of resentment, and sheer, unadulterated hatred. The frisson in the atmosphere as Dalek and Doctor circle about each other in a deadly dance of death, every revolution disgorging another convulsing, vomiting spray of disgust, damnation and despair, burns through the air just as much as does the Dalek's own raygun.

Who could imagine that we could ever feel anything for the arch-nemesis of forty-one years of Doctor Who? I never envisaged it - but witnessing the Dalek engage in its final throes brought me, a proud man of eighteen who should have grown out of this, to literal tears. The hollow core of the Dalek's being - the soldier without an army, the warrior without a quest, the killer without a target - is communicated beautifully. Who would have thought that this prop would have been capable of conveying emotion? Yet the drooping eyestalk and the phlegmy, stuttering, electronic grate of its voice are harrowing things to see and hear. I'm not a limp-wristed libertarian who applauds the tired (and frankly embarrasing) plot device of "the evil beast has a nice side really", but the execution of it was superb - and sensibly treated, as well. The Dalek is ultimately a weapon - he can't tolerate emotion.

Although Van Statten himself was rather bland, as I communicated earlier, how his subordinates reacted to his tyrannous employment was well-realised. Adam putting an optimistic gloss on his chances of escaping with his cherished mind intact, and Van Statten's secretary sacrastic and prim way of giving the proprietor a taste of his own medicine, were both marvellously human.

Again, there are pleasing fillips of continuity to keep us "Classic Series" fanboys sated - the Cyberman's decapitated head and the old jokes about stairs and "pepperpots" brought a self-deprecatory smile to my face.

"Dalek" was a marvellously emotive piece of television, superbly acted, and impeccably written, infusing the viewer with as much emotion as the cast. It's a pity really, because I fear no further episode could ever scale above this apogee. Let's hope I'm wrong!

Robert Shearman deserves a peerage for delivering us this script - I await His Grace Duke Shearman of Utah's entrance into the House of Lords eagerly!

OK, I will admit it, I didn't want to get my hopes up for this episode. Whilst I have found the new series enjoyable, I haven't quite clicked with it yet, nor have I entirely warmed to Eccleston's blokish portrayal of the Doctor. I will admit to being a long standing fan of the Daleks so the approach of a new Dalek episode filled me with mixed emotions. I wanted this episode to be good so badly indeed, the news that it had been written by Rob Shearman gave me hope but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high.

After 45 minutes of sitting on the edge of my seat, I realised that you can truly a judge a man by the quality of his enemies. "Dalek" didn't just entertain me, it blew me away! For the first time in the new series, I was utterly immersed in the story. I was no longer simply watching Christopher Eccleston playing the Doctor, I was watching the Doctor come face to face with his oldest enemy and loving every minute of it (despite the urge to duck behind my sofa).

RTD may be very good at drama but his writing of the Doctor has been slightly hit-and-miss for me and this is why I have taken a while to get into the new series. Rob Shearmen on the other hand nailed the character precisely. For the first time, I truly accepted that Eccleston was THE Doctor and not just A Doctor. The dialogue is sharp, the character is spot on and the tension is relentless.

The supporting cast are introduced in one of the sharpest 10 minutes of television I have seen. With a few economic scenes, we are introduced to the Dalek's captors and given a handle on their motives. The egotistical billionaire collector, his sycophantic second-in-command and the likable english boffin who catalogues his collection.

Shearmen doesn't mess long-time fans about, like the Doctor, we know that carnage and mahem is waiting the minute the Dalek bursts its chains. The scene where Doctor and Dalek come face-to-face for the first time is electrifying. Eccleston's immeadiate terror is replaced by sardonic mocking that would have made any of the doctor's earlier ascerbic incarnations proud. His diatribe against the Dalek contains the biggest revelation of the series so far. The Daleks were the antagonists of the much-mentioned "Time War", it appears the war ended with the Daleks and the Timelords wiping each other out leaving just the Doctor and this sole surviving Dalek.

From that point on the episode proceeds with relentless inevitability. Rose's compassion and ignorance of what the Dalek trigger's its release. It quickly goes on the rampage and proceeds to slaughter its way through the personel who try to stop it. Desparate to prevent the Dalek getting loose comletely, the Doctor tries to lock down the bunker and trap it. Unfortunately he traps Rose too who quickly comes to regret her earlier pity as she finds herself cornered. The Dalek however fails to exterminate her (to its own suprise as much as Rose) and instead demands its release in return for Rose's life.

Unwilling to see her killed, the Doctor releases both Dalek and hostage before heading off to find something powerful enough to destroy it. The Dalek and Rose reach the surface and Rose comments that she never expected to feel the sunlight again. The Dalek appears curious and shockingly unseals it's casing, allowing the mutated creature within to bask in the sunlight.

The Doctor rushes up with an alien weapon, determined to put an end to the last Dalek once and for all. Rose however refuses to let him simply gun down the creature. The Dalek is increasingly exhibiting human emotions including fear and pity. The Doctor realises that the Dalek has become contaminated by Rose's DNA and is slowly mutating into something new, a fate that is worth than death for the xenophobic creature. Unwilling to become what it despises, the Dalek self-destructs. The Doctor and Rose leave but not before taking the resident boffin with them.

This episode was undoubtedly the best in the series so far. The scripting, pacing, acting and story were excellent. However there were a few minor quibbles. The redesigned Dalek was a masterpiece. Without changing the basic design, the new-look Dalek looks considerably more sophisticated and dangerous than its plywood predeccessors. Unfortunately this good work is largely wasted in the second half of the episode when this menacing metal monster is inexplicably replaced by a sloightly dodgy looking CGI Dalek. The purpose of this appears to be to show off the Dalek's ability to hover to negotiate stairs. This is a total waste as the CGI work is nowhere near as good as the physical Dalek. A single scene with the Dalek climbing the stairs would have been adequate and then they should have switched back to the real Dalek. The poor CGI work mars the last 15 minutes of the episode unecessarily.

The other problem with the story is that it borrows heavily from Shearman's own Big Finish story "Jubilee". The premise of the last surviving Dalek being imprisoned and tortured by humans before forming a strange bond with the Doctor's companion will be very familiar to any fans of the audio series. I cannot entirely fault Shearman for this however since Jubilee was such an excellent story and deserved to be enjoyed by a wider audience.

The last few points are niggles but bothered me anyway. It is never explained how Rose's touch managed to regenerate the dying Dalek, nor how her DNA became mixed with it's own. Also the revelation that the Daleks are responsible for the destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords shocked me somewhat. The Daleks are powerful and deservedly a threat to the cosmos but the idea that they could go toe-to-toe with the Lords of Time just feels wrong to me.

Still an excellent episode and the trailer for next week has Simon Pegg in it so I finished the story on a positive note.

Wow. It could be a one word review and it would probably sum up how I feel about the slice of Doctor Who that I have just been served up but unfortunately the review guidelines indicate that no short reviews will be entertained. OK. I admit it. I had doubts. Well, you know how it is, you get all excited, you can't help it. You don't really want to because you fear disappointment but the inner child in jumping up and down inside of you and it won't be stilled. You count the days. Dr Who is coming back. It's gonna be bigger, the sets won't wobble, some of the production stills look magnificent, you think the lead actor is brilliant, and then you get the TV Movie. Been there, done that. So, a new TV series. Great lead actor, gorgeous looking stills, a genuine fan at the helm and one of the most talented men in TV Drama, to boot. It's got to be good this time hasn't it? Well, hasn't it?

So, for me Episode One didn't really gel for me. The Auton threat wrapped up in a few minutes. Solved by brute force rather than brainpower. A LOT of smirking. Burping wheely bins. I enjoyed it. A few, well quoted, good one liners. It was OK but it wasn't great. It did not inspire awe and wonder. I *thought* we would end up with a series that looked good and wasn't bad but that it would never be great. But it got better. I wouldn' t say much better but better. The second story was more interesting and then we got the The Unquiet Dead. Well, now that is more like it. Dickensian London, gothic ghost story. A smattering of Weng Chiang with a dusting of Sapphire and Steel much more like it. Then we had a cliffhanger! Hurrah for that. Been missing those. Things are warming up nicely. I am still not blown over but I am considerable impressed. I am excited about the next episode. I am feeling positive about the series. Proud of it. Able to defend my dirty secret Who habit. Able to discuss the episode with collegues in the staff room who are also enthusiastic.

Then Dalek. This IS Doctor Who and it ain't average. It is great. It is real, I feel it beginning to connect with the Doctor Who of the past. I can hear Tom Baker intone, 'have I the right?' The story is moving. Cerebral. Well acted. Genuinely edge of the seat stuff. It is top notch. It isn't a pale reflection of what has come before, it is vital and it is beginning to add to our mythology. It is not merely Doctor Who, I mean Trial of the Timelord was Doctor Who, it is the programme at it's best and it is more than capable of holding it head up in the company of the old series, Dalek has the hallmarks of the best of the best.

I can't wait to see what we are going to get next. I see Simon Pegg is in the next episode. He's great. This programme is becoming better with each airing. I think there is more to come. I was upset Eccleston had decided to call it quits but anyone who had the pleasure of watching the fabulous 'Casanova' is probably getting quite excited about seeing Tennant in the role. I know I am. I think he may add a touch more subtlety to the portrayal than the current incumbent. Better and better. Wow!